The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has ruled out a change to its recruitment rules to enable Polish immigrants to join the Armed Forces.
Army recruitment officers had called for a review of restrictions on foreigners serving in the British forces, following a recent rise in Polish immigrants wanting to enlist.
An MoD spokesman said: “We have no plans to change our recruitment rules.
“We continue to recruit the right calibre of people to maintain operational effectiveness and we welcome all British and Commonwealth nationals who want to be the best.
The Armed Forces has been fighting its own recruitment battles in recent years, and are currently short of 5,000 soldiers.
Lt Col Paul Meldon, commander of regional recruitment in London, told the Daily Mail that a significant number of Poles had made inquiries and voiced interest about joining up.
“Currently, they can’t join up unless they live here for a few years and get a British passport – and it would need legislation to change that.
“There is a precedent for having battalions of foreign soldiers in the British Army, in the form of the Gurkha regiments.”
A loosening of the rules could make a large number of potential recruits available, he added.
